Posts Tagged ‘Bhaktivedanta Manor’

On Wednesday 14 February, Sruti Dharma das, Temple President of Bhaktivedanta Manor, joined 1000 dignitaries from across the British Commonwealth at Buckingham Palace.

He was then invited to have a private audience with the Queen and other members of the Royal family.

Upon meeting Her Majesty, he discussed her visit to the Krishna Avanti School in 2015, which she remembered well. She also confirmed that the tapestry of Lord Chaitanya gifted to her hung on one of the walls of the Palace.

Sruti Dharma then spoke to Prince Charles about all the activities at Bhaktivedanta Manor, especially organic farming and its reliance on ox-power. The Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla Parker Bowles, was particularly impressed with the humanitarian work of ISKCON.

Further meetings were with Prime Minister Theresa May and the Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson. Boris recalled his student days when he used to visit the ISKCON-London temple. He would go there for a vegetarian lunch and simultaneously learn about the Hare Krishna mantra. Boris then requested for some prashadam (temple cooking) to be delivered to him at Parliament, and for Sailesh Vara MP to help him organise a special visit to the Manor.

In August 1973 a few hundred devotees celebrated the installation of Sri Sri Radha Gokulananda during the Janmashtami festival at Bhaktivedanta Manor. Over the duration of this year 100,000 pilgrims are expected to visit! Today Bhaktivedanta Manor is a centre of excellence, the heart of a huge devotional community and is internationally renown.

41 years ago the late Beatle George Harrison noticed that the temple in Bury Place near the British Museum was overcrowded. With overwhelming generosity he offered to donate a much larger property ‘somewhere within easy travelling distance from London’. From May 1972 he worked with some disciples of Srila Prabhupada to find somewhere suitable.

On a snowy January in 1973 Dhananjaya das arrived at a mock Tudor mansion called Piggot’s Manor, in Aldenham which was up for sale. Seeing the tremendous potential, he phoned George and told him he had found exactly what everyone was looking for. George, who was about to leave for the US, gave Dhananjaya das permission to go ahead and that day a hugely significant event took place in ISKCON’s remarkable history.

After the exchange of contracts took place, 25 enthusiastic devotees moved in and renamed the estate Bhaktivedanta Manor. Almost immediately, at the request of Srila Prabhupada, they turned their attention to the task of preparing to install the deities of Sri Sri Radha Gokulananda in time for Janmashtami.

The day of the installation

The deities were already dear to Srila Prabhupada: he had built up a relationship with them during a pandal program in Delhi and later asked his disciples to fly Them to Britain. From May 1972 They were kept in the Bury Place temple and the original intention was that They would be installed in an ISKCON centre in Edinburgh. However, after the Manor estate was donated, it became clear that Sri Sri Radha Gokulananda had plans of Their own!

And so it was that on Janmashtami, August 1973, the auspicious day of Their installation at Bhaktivedanta Manor had arrived. In front of ISKCON devotees from across Europe, Hindu community representatives, pop stars and local VIPs, Srila Prabhupada personally installed Sri Sri Radha Gokulananda in the Temple room of Bhaktivedanta Manor. By Prabhupada’s grace a great temple was established with a devotional tradition now spanning 40 years.

Srila Prabhupada performing arati

Before we embark on a momentous year of celebrations to mark these 40 years we would like to say that we are humbled by all the wonderful service that so many devotees have given. Their hard work and dedication to Sri Sri Radha Gokulananda makes Bhaktivedanta Manor a shining jewel in ISKCON.

There are many devotees to thank and we will be showing our appreciation to them. There are many magnificent events that have happened over the last 40 bumper years, we will be enlivened hearing stories of our early beginnings and the struggles and successes that followed.

Sri Sri Radha Gokulananda

It will be a great opportunity to remember and appreciate Srila Prabhupada and his wonderful gift of service to Their Lordships.

‘40 years of devotion’ at Bhaktivedanta Manor will begin with a grand Adi Vaas Puja on Sunday 24th March this year – on this day we will be celebrating Gaura Purnima and Holi at our first public festival of the year.

It’s certainly going to be a year to look forward to– so stay tuned in and watch this space!

Dhananjaya das continues to share his valuable memories from 40 years ago, in the early days of the British yatra with the installation of Sri Sri Radha Gokulananda, Srila Prabhupada, George Harrison and the other devotees.

We all know how overcrowded the Manor can be sometimes; it’s not just on festival days that people have to sit and eat in the corridors. So we are pleased to say that Hertsmere Borough Council is putting forward proposals that could help us expand our facilities in future.

The Council has produced a report, called a Planning Brief, which accepts additional space is required to reduce the stress on the Manor building. It sets out a number of options for introducing a Haveli building on the site.

As Councillor Harvey Cohen, portfolio holder for planning at the Council, has said:

“Bhaktivedanta Manor is an important site for ISKCON and the borough of Hertsmere with huge cultural, religious and historical significance. This planning brief aims to forge a path forward that will meet the needs of ISKCON, residents of Letchmore Heath and the wider community of Hertsmere, and ensure that all future development on the estate is sustainable and suitable.”

The Council’s Planning Brief is not a planning application. It deals with the principles of development rather than the specifics. But it should set a framework within which we can expand the facilities and reduce overcrowding in a sustainable way. We are grateful for the support of the Council in bringing the proposals forward.

A public consultation on the proposals will now run from 9 July until 10 September.

There is no intention to intensify our use of the Manor and any future planning application would simply be designed to meet current demand from our community. This is an exciting opportunity to ensure our important spiritual site can meet our needs while recognising the constraints imposed by the listed manor building and our green belt location.